Ways You Can Raise Money for Your Small Business or Startup

So you want to do thing you love? Follow your passion and make a living too. But getting started and getting your small venture off the ground is hard. To create a successful business you need to put in long hours. Long hours, and money, to get you started and on your way to success. Here are some ways you can help finance your vision.

Borrow from Friends and Family

This is actually quite popular among startups and small businesses. Lots of people go to their friends and family for the capital needed to get their passion off the ground. Your family and friends are the people closest to you. These people are are most likely to believe in your vision. But don’t take advantage. Borrow just enough to launch operations.

Venture Capitalists

Venture Capitalists, or VCs as they’re sometimes referred to, is a type of private equity. A VC is financing that is provided by firms or funds to small businesses. Small, early stage or emerging firms that are seen to have high growth and potential. High growth and potential can be considered employees, annual revenue, or a combination of the two.

Take out a Loan

The options for how you can borrow money vary from as little as 100 dollars to thousands of dollars. And there are a different types of loans you can take out. There are line of credits, secured loans, unsecured loans, or even payday loans. These loans can be short-term or more long-term.

Possible Loans (included but are not limited to):

Payday Loans: Short-term, but can have high interest rates. These loans can be quick and simple. You can borrow anything from $100 to $1000.

Line of Credit: Most useful for small business owner. Usually lowest interest rates.

Secured Loan: Requires some kind of collateral as a secondary payment, in case the borrower defaults

Unsecured Loan: Has no collateral, but granted only if you’re considered low risk. As a brand new business however, you’re unlikely to qualify for one.

Installment Loan: Loan to be paid back with equal monthly payments that cover both the principal and interest.

Finance with it Yourself

Empty your pockets. This is the most obvious solution. It’s your dream, your vision, your business. It makes sense to finance it with your own money. There are a variety of ways you can finance this yourself. You can attain a day job, even part-time.. Or if you already have one, keep it and work on your small business in your off-time. You could finance your business by leveraging your personal assets as well. Personal assets like a savings account for example.

It might be best to exhaust your own resources first, before you seek help from other sources. If you’re really serious about your passion and its success, you should feel comfortable investing into it on your own. Investing in your own business will also look better to possible and future investors. It shows that you have your own skin in the game.

“Finance with it Yourself” – totally agree with this. It’s too often overlooked in most other articles, which tend to advocate for venture capital funding, bank loans and even credit cards. If an idea is good then it’ll work regardless of the funding source. Plus, by using your own cash you’ll benefit from the motivation to not lose it! Building on your post, I’ve written a post that explains how I saved up (and you can) enough money to leave my job and start my business https://diaryofawantrepreneur.com/finance-for-a-business/.